Wetherspoon to reveal Christmas trading amid challenging backdrop for pubs Pub giant JD Wetherspoon is set to shed light on how its customers fared over the key Christmas period amid a backdrop of rising costs for the sector. The value pub chain, which runs around 800 venues across the UK, will become the latest firm to reveal its latest trading performance when it updates shareholders [...]
Urban Pubs & Bars launches acquisition spree after strong Christmas sales hospitality Urban Pubs & Bars has embarked on an aggressive acquisition spree as the London-based hospitality group toasted strong demand over the Christmas season. This week the company announced it had acquired The Birdcage in East London from Brewdog, marking its sixth acquisition of 2026. The deal follows the recent completion of five premium hospitality venues [...]
Christmas comes early for Young’s as party bookings surge hospitality One of the UK’s biggest pub groups has seen a surge in festive parties as the London-listed firm reported rising sales. Young’s, which operates nearly 300 pubs across London and the south of England, reported a 22 per cent rise in Christmas bookings compared to last year. “Christmas seems to be getting bigger every year,” [...]
Fuller’s boss hits out at ‘lack of clear plan’ from Chancellor amid Budget fears November 12, 2025 The boss of one of Britain’s biggest pub chains has taken aim at a “lack of clear plan” from the Chancellor as the hospitality sector braces for another round of tax rises at the forthcoming Budget. Simon Emeny, executive chair of Fuller’s, said the government needed “new ideas, new thinking” if it is to live [...]
Fuller’s toasts stellar year as Brits flock to pubs June 11, 2025 Hospitality giant Fuller, Smith & Turner has become the latest UK pub chain to report a stellar year of trading as Brits continue to head to pubs despite financial constraints. The FTSE 250 company told markets this morning that revenue rose 4.8 per cent to £376.3m in the 52 weeks to March 29. Like for [...]
All the pubs hiking the price of a pint after Budget tax raid March 19, 2025 Shepherd Neame announced this morning that it would be forced to raise prices at its 290 pubs due to cost pressures from last October’s budget. The family business follows a host of other hospitality companies in raising prices, with the average price of a pint set to go up by six to eight per cent, [...]
More good news for pubs as December splurge delivers crucial growth January 22, 2025 A rush of pubgoers in the last two weeks of December brought much-needed growth across the industry in a “big relief” for businesses. Pub sales were up 4.7 per cent ahead of December 2023, while bars bounced back from soft trading throughout most of 2024 to post growth of 1.3 per cent, according to the [...]
Fuller’s pub boss warns Budget tax changes will drive hospitality to the brink November 13, 2024 The boss of pub chain Fuller, Smith and Turner has made a stark warning about the effect of recent tax rises on hospitality, warning it will increase inflation and drive businesses “to the wall”. Chair of the London-listed firm known as Fuller’s, Michael Turner, said that the changes to employer’s national insurance contributions (NICs) announced [...]
Businesses warn of £400m in extra costs after Reeves’s Budget tax raid November 8, 2024 Businesses across the UK are sounding the alarm over rising costs after Rachel Reeves raised taxes by some £40bn at the Budget last week. The Chancellor announced that employer’s national insurance contributions (NIC) will increase by 1.2 per cent to 15 per cent, and the threshold at which businesses start paying the levy will be [...]
Hospitality bosses warn government tax hikes will hit investment November 5, 2024 According to reports, business leaders have warned the government that the tax rises announced in Labour’s Autumn budget will lead to a huge increase in costs and a fall in investment. The bosses of large retail and hospitality firms like Fuller’s, Greene King and Morrisons have warned business secretary Jonathan Reynolds that last week’s budget [...]